BACOLOD CITY -- Ayala Land, Inc. has been declared the winning bidder for the contract to develop and operate a 7.7-hectare state-owned lot here into a mixed-use complex, but rival SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is seen to contest the decision.
The local committee on awards and disposal of property had declared Ayala Land the winner of a round of negotiated bidding after an initial auction failed when the two developers did not meet the P19,500-per-square-meter floor price.

The property for sale is situated behind the Provincial Capitol building on Gatuslao St. while those for lease are the lots near the Philippine National Bank and the National Food Authority buildings.

Ayala Land, at the negotiated bidding, offered to pay P20,500 per square meter for 36,587 square meters up for sale. Ayala Land also offered a lease bid of P73 per square meter a month for 40,481 square meters or P2.914 million monthly, increasing by 10% every five years over a 50-year lease period.

Governor Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr., chairman of the committee on awards and disposal of property, claimed both companies agreed to a negotiated bidding after the failed July 7 bidding.

SM Prime, however, asked the Bacolod Regional Trial Court last Wednesday to stop provincial officials from holding a negotiated bidding by the end of the week.

But Regional Trial Court Branch 50 Judge Estefanio Libutan, Jr. denied on Thursday the temporary restraining order sought by SM Prime, saying SM “has not established a clear legal right that needs to be protected.”

SM Prime did not submit its bid on Friday, prompting Mr. Marañon to declare the company “lost by default.”

Jose Emmanuel Jalandoni, vice-president of Ayala Land, said on Friday that they were proposing to build state offices, and commercial and residential units. -- NLG

AYALA LAND, Inc. will spend around P6 billion to develop a 7.7-hectare state-owned lot in Negros Occidental into a mixed-use complex, the property firm said in a disclosure on Monday.
"An investment of approximately P6 billion is estimated by Ayala Land for the planning and construction of an integrated mixed-use civic and commercial district that will combine the center of government with commercial and residential uses," the firm said.
Late last week, the Negros government declared Ayala Land as the winning bidder for the contract to develop and operate the lot, which is being contested by rival SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
Ayala Land was awarded the contract to buy 3.66 hectares of the provincial capitol property, and to lease the remaining 4.04 hectares for a period of 50 years.
The property for sale is situated behind the Provincial Capitol building on Gatuslao St. while those for lease are the lots near the Philippine National Bank and the National Food Authority buildings. --Neil Jerome C. Morales

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